WWE WrestleMania 33: Why Roman Reigns Should Retire The Undertaker

I grapple with the world of pro wrestling, where sports meets entertainment.

WWE WresteMania 33 is the perfect platform for Roman Reigns to retire The Undertaker.

Credit: WWE.com

Credit: WWE.com

That's a statement that is sure to anger the most passionate WWE fans and one that undoubtedly will cause controversy among the anti-Reigns empire. But it's backed by data, and perhaps more importantly, logic.

Despite the notions that Reigns "can't wrestle," that he "shouldn't be a top babyface" or that "his push just isn't working," those things simply aren't true. Consider first that Reigns has already proven capable of performing well in marquee matches, as evidenced by a long list of fantastic performances, and let's also realize that, during that same span, The Undertaker appears to have lost "it."

A number of Undertaker's recent performances, like against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32 or against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31, were far cries from the days of Undertaker putting on all-time great matches with Shawn Michaels and Triple H. That's to be expected, too. "The Deadman" is 52 years old, has a long career behind him and was apparently even telling people in WWE that he was retiring last year after WrestleMania 32.

And Reigns, like it or not, is the perfect candidate to send Undertaker into retirement.

WWE has relied heavily, arguably too heavily, on part-time attractions in recent years. Out of the 10 highest paid wrestlers in the company in 2015, six of them (John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Undertaker, Big Show and Kane) were full-blown part-timers, many of which wrestled just a handful of matches that year but made more money than guys like Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, who are known for being absolute workhorses. In 2016, five of the 10 highest paid wrestlers in WWE, including the top three (Cena, Lesnar and Triple H).

Reigns is on that list too as the highest paid full-timer, and he's more than earned his money as one of WWE's hardest workers, and yes, one of its biggest attractions.

Fans are seeking out some of the biggest moments of Reigns' career, which falls right in line with him being WWE's top merchandise mover among full-time stars, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc). Mixed reactions or not, Reigns didn't get to that point because he consistently lost big matches or because he was booked to be an average superstar.

Wrestling fans are always looking for a superhero, and that's what Reigns is.

It's the same philosophy that helped Cena rise to the top of WWE: Be a role model, beat everyone in sight, and in turn, you become popular, sell merchandise and make WWE a ton of money.

The notion that vocal fans should dictate WWE's booking is a misguided one. Despite backlash to Reigns' character, he is still outrageously popular among most fans, according to a recent marketability study, and that's something that won't change simply if he beats The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33.

Brock Lesnar did it and is the highest paid star in the company. Cena ran through Randy Orton, Edge, Michaels, Triple H and countless others in route to being the unequivocal No. 1 star in WWE. Having your top star mow through virtually everyone on the roster may not be a formula that the diehard fan will agree with, but it is indeed one that has proven to be successful in the past.

That's why Reigns should beat Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 and retire him for good.

Whether he receives a ton of backlash or not doesn't matter. That hasn't influenced the trajectory of his career up to this point, and it won't in the future. The Undertaker is on his last legs as an in-ring performer, and Vince McMahon reportedly believes that Reigns should defeat Taker as a "passing of the torch," which is what should happen at 'Mania.

After all, let's be honest: It's not necessarily a bad idea to put your No. 1 full-time star over a 52-year-old star who works, at most, a few matches a year but pulls in $2 million annually.

Especially with WWE reportedly in talks to acquire Ring of Honor, now is about building to the future, bringing in new stars and creating space for those stars to succeed at the highest level. Whether we're willing to admit it or not, that can't be done as long as Undertaker, Goldberg and other part-time legends are around clogging the main event scene.

But at WrestleMania 33, one spear from Reigns can ensure there's one more spot in WWE's main event picture from here on out. Believe that.

Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he focuses on the WWE, NBA and NFL. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.